


The Beast of Halloween

by Coop500



Category: Beauty and the Beast (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen, Kind of Scary, Protection, Snuggly Vincent, Softvore, Trick or Treating, rainstorm, safe vore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27303910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coop500/pseuds/Coop500
Summary: A young girl in Paris attempts to go Trick or Treating, but soon gets more than she bargained for when she meets a real monster after knocking on his door.
Relationships: Catherine Chandler/Vincent Keller
Kudos: 14





	The Beast of Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This story contains soft, non-fatal and gentle vore, meaning one person swallows another whole, but don't worry no one is harmed by this and it's done in a protective, safekeeping sense.
> 
> OMG a holiday story on time! This is like... the first time? Pretty close to first time anyway, most are late or don't get finished at all so heh. 
> 
> I know in France they don't do much Halloween stuff, I attempted to reflect that with a low number of decorated houses and trick or treaters. Vincent didn't get the memo, nor did Lilly lol.
> 
> I also posted this on Royal Road under the same username.

It was a cloudy night in Paris, France. One young girl dressed in a purple and orange witch outfit was carefully walking along the sidewalk in a seemingly peaceful neighborhood. She was all alone, and did her best to steer clear of the large groups of kids, especially older kids. She had a nice haul of candy right now, and didn't want to lose it. A small handful of the houses were decorated to be rather scary, or many were not decorated at all. She didn't want to go to those houses, but then she saw one house that steered towards the 'cute and scary' side. It had some silly jack-o-lanterns outside, obviously fake cobwebs with plastic spiders and tiny cute paper skeletons. All in all it looked welcoming for a lone little girl like herself to hopefully get some treats. Making sure nobody was up at the door already, she carefully walked up the stairs, before she reached up as high as she could and knocked on the wood. Patiently, little Lilly waited for an answer. It didn't take too long, she heard some voices, a man's and a woman's, first. Then the door opened, and the child held up her little basket. She was unable to find her voice however, when she took in who, or better yet, what, answered the door.

It was a man, for a lack of a better term. But he had claws on his fingertips, in replace of what would normally be fingernails. His face was twisted and morphed into... something else, still humanoid, but certainly not human. He also had large jagged teeth lining his mouth, which he bared at her with a low growl. However the worst part was actually his eyes, they were glowing and looked like amber. But there was a feral, haunting look to them... They were real, there was no denying that, no contacts could hold such a predatory gaze to them. He looked right at her, his gaze piercing her soul as if his claws were already upon her. 

The child was frozen in place, her knees trembling beneath her. She felt her little heart flutter in her chest like a frightened hummingbird, and she was sure that any second now, he would either jump on her and shred her, or worse... Grab her and take her into his home. How could such a monster live in such a normal looking, cute house?

"Vincent don't-" A woman from within the house called, not sounding panicked, but almost like a mother warning their child not to do something. But that was all the child heard before everything was drowned out by the most haunting, bellowing, monstrous roar she ever heard. His jaws opened wide as he roared at her, showing off his terrifying teeth that she couldn't help but imagine biting into her in a few seconds from now. However, the roar did one good thing, it broke her out of her stunned state. 

With a frightened yelp, the girl accidentally dropped her basket, turned to her left and ran. As she did, she saw other people along the streets... laughing? How could they be laughing!? There was a monster behind her, one that probably wanted her for dinner! Tears formed in her eyes rapidly, blurring her vision. Lilly didn't dare try to look back, instead she focused on putting as much distance between herself and the Beast as she could. 

As she ran though, her lungs and heart started to hurt, she was breathing heavily and rapidly from her panic, which was limiting the oxygen she was actually receiving. She saw some trees though, not knowing how far she had been running but it didn't feel like long enough when she could end up as a treat for the monster if she stopped. 

Lilly stumbled off the sidewalk then, and scrambled towards the trees. She hoped that she would be harder to find in here, than just running down the street. Her little body was drained though, she couldn't run anymore anyhow as she stumbled towards some bushes to hide herself in. 

"Ouch!" She yelped when a thorn got her on the leg, drawing a little bit of blood, but mostly it just stung a bit. She put her hand over it, and whimpered as she huddled in the bushes. She hoped at the very least that maybe she'd be too much trouble to be worth eating. It's not like she had much meat on her bones anyway. Out here in the woods though, it was a bit cold... Her little witch costume wasn't really built for being warm. Lilly shivered, both from fear and the goosebumps forming on her arms from the chill in the air. Using her knees, she wiped her tears away, but let out a quiet sob afterwards. People were... laughing, at her. Why? Did they want her to get eaten? Or did that monster somehow fool everyone into thinking he wasn't really a monster, that it was just prosthetic and eye contacts? Lilly knew better though, it was too real to be fake.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Vincent stared, dumbfounded at the little basket on his doorstep. He closed the door for a second to shift back to normal, before he opened it again. He didn't understand, all the other kids, though there was only three groups after hours of waiting, but they didn't run off or take it that seriously. 

"Vincent, did you scare the child?" His wife asked in a concerned tone, and he could hear her walking up beside him. 

"I-I didn't mean to. No one else ran away like that but... I think she thought it was real." He said, his voice holding a lace of guilt as he slowly bent down to pick up the little basket. "You ARE pretty realistic~" Catherine teased, but Vincent wasn't really in the teasing mood anymore. He just frightened a little girl into running off God knows where. 

"I need to find her, to return this but also... What if she ran off somewhere dangerous? Or got lost?" He said as he peered down the street where he saw her go. Vincent would never forgive himself if he caused any harm to come to the little girl.

Catherine, a small human woman with long black hair, seemed to consider his words, and Vincent stared at her with an almost pleading look, to let him go search for the child. 

"Okay, I'll handle anymore visitors we get, just be careful and come back soon alright?" She asked him, placing a hand on his chest.

He laid his hand over her little one, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I promise, I won't be long, you know how well I can track." He said with a knowing smirk, and then gave her a soft peck on the cheek. 

He saw Catherine smile before he turned, folding his collar up and holding the basket in one hand as he started to walk down the same sidewalk the little girl did. Vincent walked for a few minutes, before he started to focus his sharper senses... Truth was, he was realistic, because he was real. His eyes flashed that same predatory amber color, from their normal brown, as he sniffed the air. The child went down this way still, but then she turned... Into the trees? He supposed maybe she thought he couldn't find her in there. It was a bit of a mistake though, he could probably find her easier in the brush, than on the street with so many other human scents mixing with her's. 

As he carefully made his way down the embankment, he wondered what he was going to say to the child once he found her. He didn't want to lie but... If he told the truth, that seemed like it would only confirm her fears of him. She had every right to be afraid of him, he was a stranger, and a Beast, a monster. Even if he didn't hurt folks he still wasn't exactly human, at least not anymore. If he lied, and she didn't believe him, then he would just make her trust him even less, and if she believed him, then he'd probably feel guilty as hell but maybe she would be safer not knowing in the long run. 

It didn't matter much yet, he had to find her first, and perhaps the best way to start would be to apologize and return the basket, showing he had good intentions and wasn't just hunting her down to hurt her. He tried to remember what she looked like... Small, with a rather cute witch outfit on, blonde hair, and rather scrawny. He couldn't remember much else before she ran, but thinking about it now he should have realized she wasn't quite as.... Resilient to being spooked as the others that had knocked on their door. Vincent heard something move in the brush not far from him, and he turned sharply towards it, amber eyes focused. Predatory instincts urged him to search the brush for his quarry, but he didn't want to scare her further if it really was her. He needed to go about this carefully and with some tact if he ever hoped to gain the little one's trust.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Vincent called out, trying to keep his voice as gentle and friendly sounding as he could. The brush moved more, and Vincent saw the girl! Her little witch outfit was unmistakable. Sadly, she saw him, and quickly turned tail.

"Wait! Please don't run!" Vincent asked, but either she didn't hear him or she wasn't listening, because he heard her little pitter patter of feet fleeing through the woods. What to do he wondered... He supposed the kid would probably get tired soon, so he could just keep following her until she stopped. Or he could chase her down and catch her in his arms, but that seemed like a bad idea for gaining her trust. Either way he couldn't leave her, so Vincent started to weave his way through the bushes and trees, the little one's scent trail clear as day now for him to follow. Her fear made it more intense, and that much easier to follow, especially being the only fresh human scent in this... park? He assumed this was a park. 

"Little one, please just, stop and let's talk okay? I mean you no harm I just wanted to return your basket! You left it at my door." He called out in hopes to get her to pause, stop or even just hesitate. Vincent stopped speed walking and listened, very closely, to see what condition she was in.

She did stop, for a moment, stumbling over something but not falling down quite yet. Her heartbeat was loud, panicked, and strained. Her breath was labored to the point she was on the brink of collapsing, probably because she hadn't had much of a break since he initially scared her. Perhaps it was time to close in before she did fall down and hurt herself. Vincent felt bad running her down like this, but he wasn't sure how else to approach her. He heard her walk a bit further, and then... He didn't hear anymore movement sounds from her, but still her heavy breathing. Maybe she took a seat somewhere or was hiding in more brush. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly was tired... she was tired even before he showed up in the park. Now she was tired enough to just, pass out despite the incoming doom approaching. He tried to come off as friendly and just a normal guy, but she knew the truth, she saw what he really was and she wasn't going to take any chances. He was some kind of... man-monster, that probably ate children for dinner. Still... she could be as stubborn as she wanted about that, but it made no difference in whether he was going to catch her or not. She huddled in some more bushes, keeping as still as she possibly could this time. It was so dark she couldn't even hardly see him, but she heard his footsteps, heavy boots crushing leaves and twigs as he neared closer and closer. 

A frightened, tiny whimper escaped the child, was this how it ended? Was he going to devour her out here and no one would ever know what happened to her? The idea of that made hot tears swell up in her eyes, and to add to the poor dear's suffering, a cold breeze whipped through the forest, cutting through her costume and chilling her to the bone. She shivered and looked up, there were no stars... a storm was coming.

Her vision of the sky was blocked by a large figure though, and a pair of amber eyes peered down through the bushes at her... it was him! It was the Beast!

The child yelped and scrambled out of the bushes, away from him. She tried to stand up, but she just fell down again so she just kept shuffling backwards. "P-please mister monster, don't eat me! I promise, I won't tell anyone what I saw! I-I taste bad anyway! L-like... I dunno…. " She trailed off, what tasted gross that no one would like? She trembled violently as the Beast neared closer, her mind trying to search for the yuckiest food item, as if it was going to somehow save her from a trip down his throat. 

"Avocado! T-that's right, I taste l-like avocados! You d-don't want me in your belly..." She finally picked something as her back hit a tree, she couldn't scramble back any further. She could attempt to get up now, but Lilly was too fear stricken to try. Instead, she watched as he slowly crouched down to her level, and reached towards her. 

Lilly let out a broken sob and buried her face into her knees, expecting pain any moment now. His claws ripping into her, or his jaws clamping down on her arms or shoulder. But there was no pain, not from him, only the freezing weather, and her own existing aches. Instead... she felt a weight rest on her knees and head, like he.. put something there? Still violently trembling, she lifted her head to see what he put on her knees. Soon, after her hands reached for it, she realized it was her candy basket? Why did he bother returning this? She wouldn't have time to eat any if he was going to eat her. 

She heard him let out a soft chuckle, not malicious or cruel sounding, but lightly amused. "Actually, I like avocado, so... you might not want to say that."

Lilly gulped, staring back at him with wide eyes as she clenched her basket close. Of course he did... Just her luck, she picked a food item she and everybody else she knew didn't like, but he liked it. 

"Y-you... do?" She meekly asked, maybe he was just kidding. She saw the base features of his face in this terrible low light conditions, she was pretty sure he was smiling, which... She wasn't sure if she should be relaxed by or more scared. She couldn't quite tell the nature of the smile.

"Yup, mostly on a turkey sandwich, but I'll take some with you on the side~" He said, but his tone showed was joking, not serious. Still, Lilly wasn't in a joking mood, and let out another faint whimper. 

"I-I... I'm not food! Please m-mister, don't hurt me... " She said with a rather pitiful sounding voice, huddling up in a even smaller ball. 

"Of course, I'm sorry, I was only kidding. It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you kiddo." She heard him say in a more serious, but gentle tone. It was assuring, and helped her relax a little. At least she knew by now he hopefully wasn't going to attack her and shred her with his claws. It seemed like he would have done that already if he was going to at all. But then another question remained...

"Why did y-you come after me? " She asked, worried about the reason. Maybe he wanted her silence? About what she saw? She was okay with that, it wasn't like anybody would believe her anyway.

"Well... I wanted to give your basket back. And apologize for scaring you, I didn't expect anyone to take me so seriously on Halloween." She heard him laugh nervously afterwards, and she found the idea of HIM being nervous a bit odd, but it helped her relate to him a little more and see him as something else besides a scary, child eating monster.

"A-are you... like... really a monster?" She was quite sure what she saw was very real, but she wanted to hear it from him, and see if he'd admit it. 

She heard him shift, and then he looked away from her. "Depends on your definition of 'monster'. But... yes, what you saw was real. Everyone else just assumed it was fake, makeup, eye contacts, those... stick-on claws. It wouldn't be hard to fake me, but it was real." 

Lilly listened as he explained, the more he talked, the less scary he seemed. She guessed he couldn't help being what he was, and sounded like he was just trying to make some good out of it through Halloween. People liked being scared and spooked after all, and what better way than to be a real monster and show it? Though she noticed he didn't really like that term. 

"So... y-you're a nice monster?" She asked, still scared a little, but she was starting to warm up to him. He did return her basket to her after all, and he didn't have to do that. 

"Something like that. I really am sorry for scaring you so badly, I'll help you get back on the street if you'd like?" He offered, his tone sounded friendly and willing to help, and he did seem genuinely apologetic for freaking her out. 

Lilly shivered, but this time it wasn't from being afraid of this man as much as the cold wind that kept ripping through the trees. He didn't seem bothered by it, but to her it felt like it was getting worse. She wasn't sure how much more candy she was going to collect in this weather but, if he helped her back to the street she should be able to go from there. The small child nodded, and found herself scooting closer to him. Her body protested at the idea of having to stand up and have the rest of her body exposed to the cold assault. 

She heard a deep, oddly... friendly sounding growl as the man stood up and closed what little distance there was between them. Lilly gulped nervously, but didn't move. Instead, she watched as he bent down, and gently gathered up her little form in his arms. She was thankful that she didn't have to expose herself to the cold anymore, and the Beast's embrace was comforting, warm, and actually rather snuggly. She let out a happy murmur and found herself nuzzling against his chest like a little kitten. She hadn't been held in so long, partly from being too old to be carried like this by a normal adult, but also because... well, her home wasn't the best either. 

The child rested her head next to the Beast's heart, hearing the calm, steady beat behind his shirt. He held her with such ease, he must be really strong too. "T-thank you mister... D-do you have a name?" She asked, feeling like it was wrong to keep calling him a monster or beast at this point.

"Vincent." She heard him say. It was a fitting name... kind of scary, but not bad. 

"Okay, thank you mister V-Vincent." She managed to not stutter until the last part, the cold was still hitting her, and she could have sworn she felt a raindrop. Lilly snuggled against Vincent more, as if somehow she expected to burrow inside of him to hide from the weather. 

"You're welcome, kiddo. It's really the least I can do since... you know." He didn't actually say it, but she could tell he blamed himself for them both being out here. She didn't blame him though, it was just a misunderstanding.

"My name I-is Lilly..." She responded after a few short moments, figuring it was rude not to return the exchange. She felt more raindrops against her bare arms and knew now it was definitely raining. Another cold breeze and the child shivered, a small whine escaping her without fully meaning to. She felt Vincent's arms tighten around her, hugging her closer, but thankfully not squishing her. He was strong, she could tell that, but he seemed to know how to not... well, crush people, especially small children. 

"It's nice to meet you, miss Lilly. Don't worry, I'll get you out of this storm. Can you tell me where your home is?" He asked, sounding genuine and polite. Normally, a child wouldn't want to tell a man they just met where they live. But in this case, her reasoning wasn't because she didn't trust Vincent. No, her reasoning was... home wasn't really a place she wanted to go back to. Little Lilly was actually planning to run away from home, using Halloween as an excuse to be out by herself and away for awhile. Her parents didn't really care much about her safety, so she knew she could get out alone.

"I... I don't remember." She murmured, which was something of a lie, she DID know, but she didn't want him to take her there. Ashamed for her little lie, she buried her face into his chest, shivering, both from the cold, and worry of what he might do if he figured out she was lying. 

She felt his arms shift, and she stiffened, was he going to just leave her here in the woods? She supposed she couldn't blame him if he did, but she didn't want to leave the warmth of his embrace. Thankfully though, he didn't put her down. Instead, she felt him wrap his dark green coat around her a bit, offering some shelter and to help shield her from the rain. Lilly smiled and let out a happy giggle, snuggling against the kind man. 

"It's okay little one, you can tell me. I know your parents likely told you not to tell strangers where you live, and that's probably a very wise piece of advice. But I promise, I just want to help you get home safely, okay?" Lilly heard him say, surprised that he knew she was lying, but didn't get upset about it? That was... not what she was used to. She stayed quiet, thinking on what to say. He was being so nice, it hurt to think about lying to him again, even if he could also be scary if he wanted to be. 

"I... Uhm… Mister Vincent? I d-don't want to go-go home..." She admitted to him, deciding the truth was the best way to go about this. She noticed he stopped walking, and Lilly scrunched up a bit in his arms, looking up at him as he looked down at her. 

"Why not? Your folks must be worried about you, and you can't really keep going with this storm." Vincent said, sounding like a gentle mother hen explaining to their child that playing in the rain could give them a cold. Lilly shook her head, and nuzzled into his chest again. 

"My p-parents are mean to me, th-they hurt me. Mister V-Vincent... Please, d-d-don't make me go b-back." Vincent was a nice man, but he didn't understand yet just how terrible her parents were. She hoped with every fiber of her being that she could convince him not to take her back. She felt tears start to swell up in her eyes, soaking into Vincent's shirt as her mind thought about all the times she was attacked, hit, yelled at and more over tiny mistakes or even nothing at all. 

She felt one of Vincent's hands shift to hold her head, and she started to tremble, a tiny broken sob escaping her. She hoped he got the idea, because she wasn't really... able to talk about it anymore right now, she would surely break down entirely first. 

"Shh, it's okay, I won't take you back to them then. I'm so sorry... I didn't know." He said, and she felt him start to walk again. To where, she didn't know, but she didn't care much either, as long as he didn't drop her off or leave her alone somewhere. She didn't say anything, instead focusing on calming herself down, and letting the kind Beast man's strong embrace comfort her. Even as scary as he was, he never hurt her, he never showed any intention of even wanting to hurt her, and Lilly couldn't help but take that as a sign of goodness in him.

"If I may ask, where do you want to go, miss Lilly?" Vincent asked and she noticed he stopped again, but the rain wasn't hitting them anymore. She carefully peaked out of his arms, to see he was standing under a large tree in the woods. She thought about his question, shivering faintly both from fear of her parents and the cold seeping into her past the gaps of Vincent's hold on her. She decided to describe a place she'd like to be and hope he knew where a place like that was.

"S-somewhere warm... and soft. W-where no one can-can hurt me." Lilly described, not really knowing of a place like that nearby, but she hoped maybe he did? 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vincent listened to the poor little child describe what sounded like her dream place. He wasn't really magical, but... maybe there was something he could do for her. He had hoped maybe there was a friend or relative she knew that would take her in, but perhaps that was wishful thinking. 

He felt his belly ache again, he'd been hungry for some time since meeting her, but he was trying to ignore it. Though.... perhaps he shouldn't be. She wanted to be somewhere warm, soft and safe, his gut fit that bill rather perfectly. She also seemed to be quite attached to him, literally, so perhaps she would appreciate still being close to him? As close as she could possibly be, even. Only issue was... well, she seemed pretty scared of him eating her at first, when she thought he was a monster hunting her down for a meal. At the time, he had no intention of swallowing her up, but the circumstances had changed a bit since then. Now he felt that perhaps tucking her away safely in his tummy would be one of the best things he could do for her right now. 

"I think I know of a place that fits that request. Would you... like to go there? It might be a bit scary going in, but I promise it's perfectly safe." He said, noticing how his voice came out a little more timid than he intended. He was worried about scaring the poor dear if he didn't do this right. The child had been through enough and all he wished to do was give her that safe, snuggly place to relax in. 

He felt her shift a little in his arms, purple, teary eyes looking up at him. "I-is it w-warm?" She asked, sounding ever so hopeful.

The Beast smiled warmly to her. "Very warm, but not too warm, don't worry. "

He saw her smile then, those eyes brightening to this prospect. "And it-it's soft?" 

Vincent chuckled lightly. "Extremely, it will be like... being wrapped in warm, cushy, heated blankets, all snugly tucked away." He said, trying to describe it in as nice of a way as he could. He wasn't lying, or making anything up about his idea, it would be quite comfortable for the little one. 

He wasn't sure if he ever saw a tiny human so happy before, especially when she wiggled in his arms, in a giddy manner. "A-and no one can h-hurt me?" 

"They will have to get through me first." He said with confidence, giving a little growl and playfully baring his teeth, though he did not shift to his Beast form. Lilly laughed from his display, and snuggled closer to him. 

"It s-sounds perfect Mister V-Vincent... Can you take m-me there? Please?" Little Lilly asked, giving him big, hopeful eyes. He wondered if she would have asked if she knew exactly where she was going? He probably should tell her, but he wasn't sure how to put it into words that didn't just sound... bad. He wasn't lying to her about any of the details, he hoped she would see that before she freaked out too much. He gave a bittersweet smile, worried now that she would freak out once she was slipping down his gullet. 

"Of course.... Just, please remember, I would never do anything to hurt you Miss Lilly, okay?" 

He saw her nod with confidence, which in turn helped him relax a little. Vincent took a deep breath, to calm his nerves, telling himself everything was going to be okay. The Beast then proceeded, his jaws soon parted and he eased Lilly's head, then her shoulders inside of his mouth. She had a bit of a natural sweetness to her, like honey or something. He wasn't expecting it, and found himself drooling a little, which helped slicken her up as he swallowed softly. 

He felt her head enter his throat, and was surprised the child wasn't freaking out yet. He felt her shiver again, but he couldn't quite tell if it was from fear, or maybe just the shock of going from cold, to rather warm. Vincent gulped again and had to adjust his arms to help ease her inside of him, exposing her body to the cold more than before but... It was only going to be until she was safely tucked away in his belly. He didn't want her to suffer from the cold for too long, and since she didn't seem to be freaking out, he started to swallow repeatedly. With each swallow, more and more of her vanished inside of him. It wasn't long before he felt a building pressure in his stomach as she started to slip down into his tummy. 

Lilly was surprisingly... tasty, it certainly was not unpleasant to gobble her up. Even more surprising, she didn't seem too freaked out? He noticed she barely moved, he hoped that meant she fully trusted him to keep her safe and snug. Soon, all that remained were her little feet, adored with the costume's witch shoes. With a deep, content hum, Vincent swallowed one last time, sending all of the little one down into his soft, snugly stomach. 

His stuffed belly rumbled happily from being full at last, and Vincent let out a content, small burp. "Oops-err, excuse me." He put a hand on the bulge in his middle, now feeling Lilly move around a little inside. It seemed she was just trying to get comfortable, rather than attempting to escape. 

"Are you alright, little one? I didn't hurt you, right?" He asked, just wanting to make sure this went as well as he promised it would. Vincent felt rather... warm and fuzzy inside though, knowing the little one was safely tucked away from harm now. He smiled in a warm, parental way as he waited for an answer, his right hand gently cradling the lump in his middle. He glanced aside from his belly though when he saw her basket again by his feet. He shook his head and picked it up, not wanting to lose it.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly blinked in the darkness of Vincent's belly, taking in what just transpired. He had eaten her, alive and whole, and part of her sort of suspected that was what he was hinting at when she agreed to go to this special soft place. Where else could fit his description? Especially at the mention of having to go through him.

But the child wasn't... scared, not really, she trusted that he wouldn't do all this just to turn around and hurt her. And so far his tummy was everything he said it was and more. She felt safe, protected and comfortable. It was hard to believe she was so afraid of ending up in here, and wondered for how long had he been thinking about swallowing her up? Or was it a recent choice since she didn't want to go home? She guessed it made more sense to be the latter, it seemed to be something he just decided on now. She then heard his deep, but concerned voice rumble around her, asking about her wellbeing. She smiled and gently placed her hand on the wall in front of her. 

"I'm okay Mister Vincent! Thank you for warming me up and keeping me safe." She said sweetly, her stutter now fully gone both from a mixture of no longer being cold, and feeling protected from the world. She saw a glimpse of how terrifying he could be, nothing could get by him. 

She let out a soft squeak when one of the walls pushed in and softly 'squished' her, and then there was a gentle circular motion. Soon she realized it was the nice man rubbing his belly, and she snuggled against his hand. 

"You're welcome. And don't worry, I have your basket here still, I'll keep it dry and ready for you when you come out." He kindly said, though Lilly totally forgot about it until now. She must have dropped it when she was... well, devoured.

"Okay, thank you!" She trusted that he wouldn't eat any of it, plus she'd know anyway if he did. 

Soon, she felt him start to walk, guessing by the soft swaying motion of his belly. The little one relaxed in the snug folds, not really being sure where he was taking her now, but she didn't really mind it either. She was safe, warm, and made a new friend, she was as happy as she could be. 

"So.... I was thinking, since you clearly shouldn't go back to your home... Would you like to stay with me and my wife? It doesn't have to be forever or anything, just to give you a place to stay, a roof over your head and some meals." Vincent offered, his voice still rumbling, but it sounded... softer, timid even, like he was afraid of overstepping maybe? It was understandable. She did not know he had a wife, and grew curious. 

"Is your miss like you?" She asked, not that it mattered in her choice, but she was nonetheless curious.

She heard him chuckle lightly. "Oh no no, she's like you, and very kind."

So a human? Interesting, he had been very kind to her so far, and didn't see why that would change, so it made sense that he would easily become close with other humans as well. "Okay, that sounds good then, please?" 

She felt more gentle rubs and a deep, friendly growl came then, before he answered. "Of course, we'll take care of you for as long as you wish." He confirmed, and Lilly smiled, closing her eyes and imagining for a moment what it was going to be like, and what his wife was going to be like? "Thank you... " She murmured out, and before too much longer, Lilly soon fell asleep. The Beast's powerful heartbeat lulled her to a peaceful slumber, the little one dreaming of her new possible family.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you enjoyed this fluffy story~


End file.
